The Holy Grail of fat kid movies is clearly Heavy Weights. This film (written by a young Judd Apatow) features appearances by Shaun Weiss (Goldberg), Kenan Thompson (blasphemous that he hasnt been on this list yet), Aaron Schwartz (the third Mighty Duck crossover actor in this movie), and thin villain Ben Stiller (who would go on to play a fat villain in Dodgeball). The premise is a group of heavy kids are sent to a summer camp to lose weight, which they dont mind until the camp is taken over by a psychotic fitness guru who humiliates and starves them. On top of being a really entertaining movie, Heavy Weights is the only feature on this list that actually addresses the issues that accompany being an overweight youth. On top of the very serious health concerns, being big can also cause an innate feeling of shame around family and friends, to say nothing of the inhumane bullying that can and does occur. The boys in this movie hate the idea of being labeled fat or needing to go to a camp to be fixed, but once there they find the (initial) sense of acceptance incredible. Once theyve overthrown the evil camp director Tony (Tony Wonder?), its even more impressive that they recognize that they really do need to shed a few pounds. As a team, they can encourage one another to go about losing the weight at a healthy and natural pace. Also, how awesome is The Blob? Every childhood should come with one of those. Choice Quote: Dear Grandma, someone once said war is hell. Theyve never been to fat camp. Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.
Joe Sippy grew up in Chicago and now resides in Los Angeles. He enjoys corn dogs, rap music, and horror movies. On weekends you can find him in the ocean, surfing very poorly.
